Kelly LeBrock: ’80s Sex Symbol Out of Hiding

But these days, she spends a lot of her time shoveling horse manure. And that's just the way she likes it.

In an interview with the British newspaper The Daily Mail, LeBrock, who rose to stardom in the movies "The Woman in Red" and "Weird Science," has spoken publicly for the first time in years about turning her back on stardom and leaving Hollywood for a ranch in Santa Barbara, California.

"I grow all my veggies and make my own cheese and yogurt," LeBrock said. "It's bloody exhausting!" said the American actress (who spent her childhood in England). "To work the land full time keeps me so fit that I haven't worked out in seven years. I clean the pool myself, muck out the pigs and the horses."

But she also has peace of mind, and her horse Kiwi to keep her company. "Sometimes I sleep three nights in a row outside with no tent, just under the stars," LeBrock said. "Just me and my horse. It brings me closer to the earth."

Born in New York and raised in London, 53-year-old LeBrock began modeling professionally when she was 15 years old. After becoming a top fashion model appearing regularly in Vogue and Harpers Bazaar, LeBrock fell into drugs and the party lifestyle.

"I didn't want to get hooked on heroin and die like some of my friends," LeBrock said. "I decided to change my lifestyle and quit modeling and go to the next obvious thing, movies."

LeBrock moved to California and met film producer Victor Drai. They married in 1984, and while the relationship only lasted two years, he did help her land the title role in "The Woman in Red," in which she played a sexy-but-mysterious lady who becomes an object of obsessive desire for Gene Wilder.

"It was a thrilling experience," LeBrock said, "Not only did it help me cut my teeth on movie making, but it also placed me at the movie’s center, which, I must say, overwhelmed me."

LeBrock's status as a sex symbol was solidified when she played Lisa, the perfect woman designed by a pair of lustful teenage boys, in the comedy "Weird Science." '

LeBrock's life took an unexpected turn when she met Steven Seagal, then an aspiring actor, during a publicity trip to Japan in 1987. The two fell in love and got married, though LeBrock would later learn Seagal hadn't fully finalized his divorces to his first two wives when she said "I do."

LeBrock and Seagal had three children, but they were said to have a stormy relationship, and while LeBrock has refused to comment on rumors that Seagal was an abusive husband, in a 2010 interview she said, "I was constantly raped and abused my whole life,” without naming culprits. The couple split up in 1996.

"I admit, I became a hermit," LeBrock told the Mail. "When I split with Steven, the divorce was very ugly, and details of the case were on the evening news. I didn't want my kids seeing it, so I simply got rid of the TV. I moved my kids out of L.A. so they could grow up with real people — the kids of gas pump attendants, plumbers, and real family people … I decided to swap my old life in Beverly Hills for a new one in the country, in Santa Barbara."

LeBrock says that the experience has been good for her and her kids, but she's hoping to get back into the acting game. She's made four movies since 2000, and has a fifth — a thriller called "Hidden Affairs" — slated for release this year. She also does volunteer work with Club Carson, a support group for children with terminal cancer. And she's working on an autobiography — a cautionary tale for young people making their way into the entertainment business.

"I see kids like Lindsay Lohan going off the rails because she has no one there for her," LeBrock said. "Lindsay reminds me of a 12-year-old, like a little girl stuck in a young woman's body, with all the drugs and alcohol."